Reporting Military Sexual Trauma: A Mixed-Methods Study of Women Veterans' Experiences Who Served From World War II to the War in Afghanistan

Abstract

Since 2004, there has been increased effort to reduce military sexual trauma (MST) in the U.S. military. Although MST covers a range of inappropriate behaviors, the majority of research, treatment, and outreach are focused on sexual assault and the experiences of individuals serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. During a study on veterans' involvement in a national peace organization, participants were asked about their military experiences. Veterans served from World War II to current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Emerging out of the responses were descriptions of women's experiences with MST, barriers to reporting incidents of sexual misconduct and sexual assault, and the challenges they faced when seeking care. Data were gathered using anonymous questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Out of 52 female veterans, the majority (90%) was subjected to at least one form of MST, and 15% (8) attempted to report the incident(s). Over half of the assailants were of a higher rank than the survivors. The majority of veterans remained silent due to lack of options to report, the status of perpetrators, and fear of retaliation. These data provide a glimpse into the challenges many women veterans faced when seeking assistance reporting incidents or obtaining health care for their MST.

Institutional betrayal following military sexual trauma is associated with more severe depression and specific posttraumatic stress disorder symptom clusters

“…Individuals who must continue to be in situations or contexts with the perpetrator and/or institution may be particularly susceptible to betrayal blindness—the tendency to minimize or ignore information in order to preserve the relationship with the institution as a means of survival (Freyd, , ); this may facilitate continuing to be identified with the institution. It is also possible that individuals who experienced institutional betrayal following MST felt compelled or opted to discharge from the military (Katz, Huffman, & Cojucar, ; Monteith, Gerber, Brownstone, Soberay, & Bahraini, ; Morral et al, ; Wolff & Mills, ), potentially due to perceptions that the military failed to protect them from the sexual trauma or did not promote a supportive and safe environment.…”

Understanding sexual offences in UK military and veteran populations: delineating the offences and setting research priorities

“…Underreporting of sexual offences is common in civilian populations but reasons for this may differ. Fear, cohesive behaviour of perpetrators and command structures may delay or prevent reporting in the military21 22 and retaliation was experienced by two-thirds of US women reporting sexual assault 5. Support from leaders can, however, moderate the relationship between trauma exposure and outcomes 23.…”

Hidden Veterans: A Review of the Literature on Women Veterans in Contemporary Society

“…How MST is reported, and the treatment of those who report MST is an area of concern. In particular, there is a perception that investigations carried out by the military are far from proficient and women service personnel fear reprisals for reporting incidents (Wolff & Mills, 2016). It is argued that both of these factors contribute to a potential underreporting of incidents.…”

“…It is argued that both of these factors contribute to a potential underreporting of incidents. The study by Wolff and Mills (2016) specifically focused on the reporting of MST from WWII onwards. They found that MST had affected 90% of women participants in that study, yet only 15% had reported it.…”

“…Fear, inability to provide evidence of assault, and the cohesive behavior of perpetrators and command structures all delay or prevent reporting (Cloitre, Jackson, & Schmidt, 2016;Gibson, Gray, Katon, Simpson, & Lehavot, 2016;Wolff & Mills, 2016). Wolff and Mills (2016) argue that MST is not a new phenomenon, indicating that women across all eras had been affected by gender discrimination, sexual assault, and violence while serving. This would appear to happen, despite the military being viewed as value-driven, self-disciplined, and a place in which people work as a team (Dichter, Wagner, & True, 2018, p. 847).…”